‘Riverdale’: Kiernan Shipka Explains Sabrina Spellman’s Surprising Return

After years of anticipation, Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) finally arrived on Riverdale. Only it wasn’t in the Riverdale we know and love, thanks to a five episode event set in the dark, supernatural town of RiverVALE. And not only that, Sabrina only showed up briefly, to help Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) with a dangerous spell.

But don’t worry, as Shipka teased to Decider, this might not be the last time you see Sabrina on Riverdale, and she might not be completely done with Netflix’s abruptly canceled Chilling Adventures of Sabrina quite yet. The cameo also left open a lot of questions, like how she returned, and more importantly what might be up with Nick Scratch (Gavin Leatherwood), who was last seen kissing Sabrina in the afterlife.

“TBD, man!” Shipka said, laughing. “I mean, Sabrina’s not wearing a wedding ring. What happened to Nick? I hope he’s around.”

In the episode, Sabrina arrives at Thornhill to help Cheryl transfer her spirit into the dying Nana Rose’s (Barbara Wallace) body. It turns out that Cheryl isn’t really Cheryl, she’s a witch named Abigail Blossom (also Petsch) who was cursed to an immortal life of loneliness. Over time, she’s taken on different identities, but wants to finally pass into the afterlife to rejoin her beloved, Thomasina Topaz (Vanessa Morgan). Thanks to a once-every-65-years occurrence with the passing of Bailey’s Comet, Sabrina and Cheryl/Abigail cast the spell. Abigail dies, Nana Rose is in “Cheryl’s” body, and Sabrina strongly hints that she used something similar to return to life herself.

To find out more about this twist, how Sabrina has grown up, and more, read on:

Decider: Before we get to Riverdale proper, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa posted a deleted scene from Chilling Adventures showing Zelda bargaining with Baron Samedi. That was super fun to see, but it just made me wonder how on the edge was the show was, coming back versus the eventual cancellation?

Kiernan Shipka: I don’t know everything, but I think at the time we were optimistic that it could, but also knew that it might not. So obviously shot it in such way where we could have an ending that felt like an ending. And then also had that additional scene, in case we decided to journey on in any kind of way or shape or form.

It wrapped at a really funny time in the world. You know, we wrapped about three weeks before COVID lockdown 2020. So no one knew that the world was about to dramatically change, and things happened, and we weren’t able to go back.

Well, that all said: you are back. What was it like slipping into the headband again?

The best. I was so excited. I was just curious as to whether or not it felt if it was going to feel easy or difficult. I was so thrilled. I was just so excited to finally be her again. And I didn’t realize how much of her was just in me, you know? I started reading the sides out loud and all of a sudden, I was transported back in time.

What was it like stepping onto the Riverdale set as Sabrina?

It was amazing. It was really great. It was like going back, but on a new terrain and that felt really exciting. I always love feeling like a team player, and what was very fun about Sabrina and very challenging, but meant so much, was that I was the lead on that show, I was there every day, doing really tough work. And it was wonderful. But to come in and bump in for a few days casually, but still play the same character with this really fun, interesting experience because it was unlike the work hours that I was maintaining before… I was coming in very fresh. With Sabrina, we were always sprinting a marathon. And with this, I felt like I could kind of really just come and have fun. It was truly fun.

This Sabrina seems to be a little older, a little bit wiser, a little more confident. What was your take on her?

My take was that we’re meeting Sabrina after, obviously, some stuff has gone down that we don’t know about. I brainstormed what that possibly could have been. But I think at the end of the day, the main takeaway was that she has matured. And the funny thing about Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that I think a lot of people tend to forget, or I would tend to forget sometimes, is that Sabrina was 16 years old, 17 years old. She was so young, and the weight that the world was on her shoulders. So of course she was going to make mistakes. And of course she was going to do things that weren’t exactly perfect. But visiting her felt like the moment where I could implement maybe a little bit more maturity into, it in a way that I think is just only natural as someone gets older.

What was it like working opposite Madelaine Petsch on these scenes? Cheryl and Sabrina are such an obvious, wonderful fit together.

Right? Oh my gosh. The second I read the script I thought, “that makes so much sense.” That is how we’re getting an intro to Sabrina in the Riverdale world. So I was so excited, and also Madelaine’s the best. Like, I love her so much, and we hadn’t really gotten a chance to hang out before this. So it was really fun to just chat off air. I felt like I was hanging out with someone for two days, and then also doing something I loved. It was a wonderful experience, through and through.

As you mentioned, you only get a few scenes here… Were there any other characters that you in would’ve really wanted to see Sabrina cross over with, other than Cheryl of course?

I think the image of Sabrina and Archie together would just be be unbelievable. I see that in my head so clearly.

I was a little bummed that we didn’t get to see Jughead and Sabrina, particularly since you’re doing a movie with Cole Sprouse. Was there any talk about that at all? Or that just wasn’t in the cards?

Yeah, I think there still is… I don’t think that we’re done with Sabrina entirely, and I hope she can go into Riverdale, and maybe have less routine, more relational kind of moments in the show. I think that would be really fun.

To get in the weeds a little bit here. Sabrina says that she feels like it’s been centuries since she last saw Abigail/Cheryl. Is the implication there that after her own transference, that Sabrina is immortal in some way? Or is there’s just more history potentially to unpack?

Witches never die. That’s what they always say, right? So I think that there’s room for interpretation. But from what we know, I think time has passed… We don’t know how much though.

I know a lot of folks watching the episode are probably going to be very concerned about the whereabouts of Nick Scratch. Was he resurrected too? Or is that TBD?

TBD, man! I mean, Sabrina’s not wearing a wedding ring. What happened to Nick? I hope he’s around.

There also seems to be a lot of meta-commentary on the end of Chilling Adventures. I loved the line “happy, sad endings are best,” in particular.

I just think it’s so true. And it’s the most poignant, beautiful line, I thought. That really is to me Roberto’s brain at his best. Those sentences that hit and resonate so much. And I feel like inside of art, and more in and outside of that and in my life, I think that happy, sad endings are the best. It’s just such a beautifully truthful line.

So now that Sabrina is in this world, obviously she’s in Rivervale and not Riverdale… Are we going to potentially see you again on the show, or is that also TBD at this point?

I’d love to, I’d love to go back. I think that that’s definitely a strong possibility. Beyond TBD.

I talked to Roberto a few weeks back and he seemed, in a very positive way, very settled on the end of Chilling Adventures. He was very proud of the 36 episodes that you guys made. That said, even beyond appearances in Riverdale, is there any possibility of Chilling Adventures, the show, coming back? Or have you all moved on at this point?

I don’t know. I mean, I think there’s always a potential for a reunion in some iteration. I don’t know if the show would ever come back in a series, but I think that there’s room there for something to happen. I think that the cast love each other so much, and we’re all pitching to do something.

If fans wanted to do that, what should they do? Spam HBO Max’s Twitter mentions? Send a petition? Just hope for the best? What would you suggest?

Oh my gosh. They should just keep doing their thing. The fans really are what keeps this show afloat. The fandom is just such a huge part of it, so yeah. I mean: pitch those concepts.

Riverdale airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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